Tainted Purity
by Sekre
Summary: They will journey together as friends, come together as lovers, and fight each other as enemies. Once again, different paths are set in front of them, ultimately leading to the Keyblade War.[Riku x Sora Post KHII][Hiatus]


**Introducing _Tainted Purity _**

Synopsis: They were ready for any adventure, as long as they had each other. Over the course of the story, things will fall apart. Friends will go against friends, lovers against lovers, lights will go out … Love is only a momentary bliss masquerading true darkness. Sora x Riku Post KHII

**Hm, I will probably change the plot description, since I have no idea how to put this story in words _that will fit within the character limit _while leaving room to ponder. This story isn't a simple ten-chapter love flick but a sequel connecting to the Kingdom Hearts series.**

**Enjoy the introduction, and please – give some feedback.**

Tainted Purity

**_Fixed some errors on 05-07-06_**

**Chapter One:**

**Conformation**

* * *

The sun gradually dipped, leaving an assortment of colors to follow in its set. The familiar cawing of birds was also heard, signaling the end of the day amid stretching their wings, casting shadows of their outline across the rolling waves. He was sure the island hadn't changed since it was invaded by heartless almost three years ago, but somehow everything seemed different—a good different. He was home. They had always taken the islands for granted, he especially, and now that they were back to stay, he couldn't recall the reason for wanting to leave in the first place.

So many days he could just sit there, at his old spot on the paupo tree, watching the water sparkle at the sun's company or how the shadows shifted from the coconut trees as the day passed on. Sure this 'hobby' was a bit obsessive as well as odd, but after being, living, _breathing_ in darkness for so long, this escape was a haven.

Escape. Hmph, what a loose interpretation of such word. Darkness, it was still there, he could feel it coursing through his veins and whispering to his heart. He tried to ignore it, get rid of it, but no mater what it was always there, his companion. It was faint, but all he had to do was listen close enough to hear it's taunting.

_You don't deserve to be here… _

_This is not your home…_

_Hurt them, hurt them…_

_Only a matter of time…_

It terrified him, probably because what it whispered was frequently true. He didn't deserve to be here; what if he did give in? What if he did hurt them? He couldn't forgive himself if he hurt Sora again—just the thought of it alone kept him at a safe distance. He didn't deserve the other as a friend, nonetheless a _best_ friend. Sora deserved someone better, someone like… Kairi. Sure it was unreasonable to be jealous of something so special, their happiness…together, but that was typical and expected. He had always been selfish, evident through his camaraderie with darkness, the battles, and even now, being green-eyed at his two best friends. Selfish, arrogant, cocky Riku; yep, that was him.

So many things weighed profoundly on his heart, keeping it from the purity he had once had, nevertheless it was his punishment, hardly justifying his previous actions. And for that, he had been distancing himself from his friends, starting after the first day back. He knew if anyone were to ruin _their_ happiness, it _would_ be him. Of course, Sora had noticed this, being the person that knew him best, but the teenager was awfully naïve. A few fluffy words of reassurance and a ruffling of the hair were all it took to make the boy beam and forget his earlier inquiries. As for Kairi, she was just content by means of being with Sora—who wouldn't? Sure they weren't really 'dating' per say, but they might as well be. Sora was just too bashful, despite the fact that he was sixteen. It _was_ a bit anomalous that Sora still withdrew from the 'dating idea' for almost a year; after all, he did put off two years of being with the girl in search of him—yet another selfless deed contributed to the Hopelessly Unworthy Riku Foundation (also known as HURF).

The boy was always paying for his mistakes. It's a wonder why the brunet even bothered; any other person wouldn't and didn't. However, no matter how many times he tried to tell himself that he didn't need a best friend and that he should leave Sora's life—no _their_ lives alone, he was too weak. Sora was the only reason why he stayed and for that greedy want, it was only fair to detach himself.

He _had_ to protect Sora, he always wanted to protect him, and now all he could do was protect him from himself, albeit he knew Sora was stronger than he could ever be. Perhaps not in a physical sense, but said other had one thing he could never have: the ability to follow his heart…

Damn, what happened to those days where they would just sit there, staring at the stars and wonder why? Why Destiny Islands? Why here out of all places? What was out there? Everything then was so carefree… happy. 

Happiness was never meant for him. He would always be alone and every moment he had to watch Sora drift away to _her_ was his punishment.

* * *

"Nice try Tidus, still can't beat me." Said other sighed in defeat before lifting himself groggily from the sand.

"Yeah, yeah. It was a close one though…" Was insisted by the blond with a cheery grin as he set the wooden blade languidly (not to mention sorely) on his shoulder.

Riku smiled faintly, knowing full well he was going easy on his blond friend, but nodded his head in agreement anyways.

"Yeah, you just need more practice. Go challenge Wakka, or Kairi." He suggested with a shrug, pools of aquamarine leaving Tidus to stare distantly at the horizon.

Tidus nodded, muttering a swift farewell before crossing the bridge and speeding back towards the island to look for his orange-haired friend.

Riku watched him go from the corner of his eyes with a tinge of amusement glinting from his façade before he retired to the paupo tree, but not after he tossed his own wooden sword to the side. They all possessed their keyblades, and he was sure it was bound to him for life. Sometimes he and Sora would summon such keyblades and use them against each other on the beach. It was like old times, however (since it was obvious Sora was a better keyblade master than he could ever dream to be—albeit he was sure Sora had a dissimilar reason to not competing, probably ridiculous) it was always fun just to see who could predict whose move, etcetera, etcetera.

Spending any time with Sora whether it was sword fighting or lounging was pure bliss, to the silver-haired seventeen-year-old. _I wonder if Sora ever felt the same…_ No, he couldn't, he had perfect miss Kairi attached to his hip.

Before the teenager could contemplate more on such thoughts, inevitably those that would lead to bashing Kairi unfairly (as he done plenty of times before), he heard quick footsteps running across the bridge behind him. _Already?_

Riku sighed, turning his body slightly from his seated position on the tree trunk as he addressed the other.

"Tidus, you should really give it a rest for the day. You can't fight me with tired—omph!" Before he could finish his sentence or fully even face the other, he was…pounced on?

"Ack, Sora! Get off me!" He cried, as best as one could anyways with his face buried in the sand and said other sprawled heavily across his back.

Sora grinned sheepishly, crawling off his best friend before slouching against the paupo tree, shuffling his hair.

"Sorry Riku…" His face was flushed from running, and his hair (which had grown rather long -- to his shoulders) was wind swept—not that it did much to his bizarre, yet cute looking hairstyle.

Riku shot the brunet a glare, but even he couldn't resist a chuckle as he moved to stand. However, before he could complete the action, Sora dived at him, puling him back down desperately by the arm.

"Sora, what the fuc-"

"Stay down, she might see you!" Sora cried, glancing over the tree's trunk cautiously before sitting back down, impossibly blue eyes bright and alert.

A sliver brow was raised in question as Riku was settled (well more like forced) against he paupo tree next to Sora, the other's hand still grasping his arm.

"And who is exactly 'she'?" Riku finally inquired, not after hacking down the temptation of bursting into laughter at the sixteen-year-old's nerve-wrecked expression, which would no doubt only lead into more of a frenzy.

"Kairi!" Was the answer, as he tossed his arms in the air dramatically, as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. Riku shook his head, feigning off the feelings of loss when Sora's hand left his arm.

"And _why_ are we hiding from Kairi?" An amused smirk teased his lips as the other glanced around to double-check if they were still alone. Tentatively, Sora inched forward, eyes narrowed and senses vigilant. In a quiet voice, he answered:

"She keeps trying to kiss me!"

Unable to keep it in, Riku exploded with laughter, in affect causing Sora to jump back in surprise before sending an aggravated glare in the older boy's direction.

"Its not funny Riku!"

The seventeen-year-old shook his head, with a smile still plastered on his face. Typical Sora. He defeated a countless amount of heartless, nobodies, and the heads of Organization XIII and he was running away from a _kiss_? How could he be so innocent after all the shit his no-good 'best friend' put him through? Riku sighed, smile falling somewhat at the thought and he could not ignore the trace of displeasure with Kairi lingering in his voice as he replied to the trembling other.

"I suppose so… What's the big deal anyways?" Why is Kairi trying to take that purity he so loved away from the keyblade master?

"I… I've never… You know," Sora mumbled, pointing his index fingers together as scarlet started to tinge his cheeks.

"You've never had you first kiss?" Riku chuckled, despite himself. He was clearly amused at his best-friend's inexperience (especially when he was such a 'cute-looking' boy on the island) but… Kairi would be the one to take Sora's first kiss? Why her? Not that he could think of anyone better (since Kairi was the 'prettiest' and 'nicest' girl on the islands, according to the lesser judgments of others…) but still! What right did she—wait, why was he making such a big deal out of this? It wasn't like it was _sex_ or anything…Or at least, it better not be. Nonetheless, this was _Sora_! Riku was positive that he would pass out (and according to his luck, into the water in effect drowning) if he ever saw Kairi sticking her tongue down Sora's throat. Hell, the thought of it was also sickening.

"No! What if I suck at it? Wait, what am I talking about? Of course I'll suck at it! What am I going to do Riku? She's going to catch me sometime, and then, and then…?" Ranting, pouting, trembling…the expression was adorable. A puppy pouncing around was no rival to the way Sora pouted. Riku quavered his head, wanting nothing more that to tell Sora just to forget about the redhead, but that was just proof that he didn't need to show what a bad friend he truly was.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll do fine." Somehow, the conversation turned spiteful, or at least, on his end. Why did he have to hear about Kairi all the time? Why didn't they just get married and skip off into the sunset like the perfect couple everyone makes them out to be? Then he wouldn't have to watch them anymore.

Sora buried his face into his hands, letting wild but soft tresses dangle to the front of his face. It was like this for a few minutes, both males sulking, but for dissimilar reasons.

Then, out of nowhere, Sora shot his head up, eyes enlarged and brightened with discovery. "I got it!"

Riku's body nearly left the ground, regardless of being seated. His aquamarine eyes gleamed in question, yet evidently surprised at the other's sudden outburst.

"What are y-" Before he could complete the question, Sora answered as if he had thought of the greatest idea known to man.

"Let me kiss you!"

"……"

Blink.

"Wait – what?" Was all Riku managed to choke out. He was positive that he completely misunderstood what the other was asking. What sounds like kiss? Miff? Let me miff you? That didn't sound right…

"Let me kiss you – come on, for practice!" Puppy eyes pleaded as Sora brought his hands together in a plea.

Sora wanted to kiss him? _KISS_ him? A guy? Is he not thinking clearly? Did a coconut fall on his head on the way over, damaging the logic side of his brain?

"What the hell? Sora, we c-can't do that!" His voice sounded with alarm and shock, but surprisingly not revulsion. Sora didn't know what the hell he was asking!

Sora crossed his arms, letting out a huff. "Why not? Come on… just let me try once! I just want to see if I can do this right!" He nodded, as if to put further emphasis on his 'great idea' as he slowly inched his way towards Riku.

With that, Riku slowly inched back.

"B-because! What the fuck? Sora, can't you find anyone else?" Riku was stuttering! And to top it off, his cheeks were the colors of cherries! Sure he had kissed girls before without a thought in the world, but with Sora? His best friend? What about Kairi? Surely she would be upset if she found out.

"Just … let … me." Uh-oh. Was that a mischievous glint in Sora's eyes?

"Wait, what are y—" Yet again, he was cut off as the brunet lunged at him, with a battle cry?

"Come on!" Sora tried to press the fair-skinned other on his back, but Riku was no doubt stronger, and he used such strength to flail about. But who had more motive? The kisser or the one to be kissed?

"Ompf! Ouch, hey watch it!"

"Not the hair!"

"Fuck, how many arms do you have?"

"Just stay still!"

"Get off of me!"

"Just a tiny kiss!"

"Argh!"

"Ahh!"

Somehow their wrestling left them with tangled limbs, Sora's head against Riku's calf and the top half of Riku's body dangling off the edge of the mini-island. One way or another, they managed to untangle from each other before exhaustion from the match took its toll. Sora was lying sprawled on his stomach, trying to catch his breath as Riku was propped up on an elbow, his free hand rubbing a bruise that would soon be formed at the crown of his head.

After the panting and grumbling subsided, the two managed to sit side-by-side against the paupo tree, as if they never changed positions.

Riku heaved a sigh, glancing at the shorter boy who was staring at the ground with defeat. _Fuck, not that look…_

"Fine."

Sora's head popped up as he stared at Riku incredulously.

"Fine what?" He answered carefully, eyes searching the paler face for a complete answer.

Riku rolled his eyes and let out a huff. "You know what. Just, get it over with." Cool, calm, collected. He was such a great actor. His feelings betrayed his expressions, being absolutely terrified, nervous, and … excited?

Sora's fallen air did a complete one-eighty, a joyful grin replacing the sulking frown. That in itself was worth the awkwardness and most likely embarrassment to come to poor Riku. The brunet nodded, standing on his knees as he put his hands timidly on Riku's shoulders.

Riku meanwhile was trying to avoid eye-to-eye contact while fighting down the flush that was steadily making its way across his cheeks as Sora inched closer … and closer.

_Awe fuck, I'm going to pass out._

Riku turned his gaze back towards Sora, ready to tell him to forget it for it was _way_ to weird. But words were halted as aquamarine met beautiful blues.

Before he knew it, lips were pressed against his own…soft lips.

Holy shit! Sora is kissing me! 

The kiss was careful and nervous, as if the younger one was expecting his head to be bitten off. But that didn't happen, so slowly Sora put more pressure against the other's lips before closing his eyes.

Riku didn't apprehend the fact that his own eyes were closed and that his pale hands had found Sora's hips.

This was nice… he wanted…more.

Riku lowered his chin, towering slightly over Sora as he straightened his position against the paupo tree. Pressure was returned to Sora as Riku instinctively tried to take the dominant position of the kiss.

_Ecstasy … Complete ecstasy_.

He felt dizzy, his mind deciding to go tipsy from the emotions surging through his body. He had kissed plenty of girls before, and none of them made it seem so _natural_. It was as if Sora's lips were molded to fit his own.

Whether it was minutes or seconds that ticked on was lost to both parties as the world slipped away from around them.

Riku felt something wet sweep across his lower lip in permission and without a second thought to it he parted his lips. Tongue met tongue, shyly at first as they both massaged each other. Riku dipped his head, allowing his tongue to roam deeper into Sora's tasty cavern, brushing against the roof of the other's mouth, the insides of his cheeks, behind his teeth … just everywhere.

Sora tasted like peaches.

Out of breath, Riku forced himself to pull away from the kiss (hell if that was a kiss, what were those other ones called?). Sora slumped against him, sending shivers up his spine as he felt the other breathe onto his neck.

He didn't know what to say and doing anything was out of question since his body was paralyzed with the only movement being his heart thundering in his chest. Managing to catch his breath, Sora pulled slightly away from Riku, eyes drifting up to meet Riku's in a dreamy-glaze.

"Riku…I.." Sora started, but pulled away in a startling manner.

"I was supposed to be home ten minutes ago!"

The brunet bolted up, taking off on speedy legs. Halfway across the wooden bridge he waved back, calling a 'see you later' and a 'thanks' before disappearing from eyesight.

Riku meanwhile just stared after the other, even after his "best friend's" form was nowhere to be seen.

What just happened?

An hour had probably passed before he could even stand, and even then it was painful because his legs had fallen asleep.

Albeit the fact that the kiss had happened an hour ago, he could still feeling a tingle lingering on his lips in an almost _haunting_ post-kiss. Fuck, he could still taste peaches.

Seeing as the sun had set, Riku headed home with only his body to lead him, as his mind was completely somewhere else. When they had kissed, as cliché as it sounded, everything else disappeared. All he could focus on was his best friend and every detail about him. All other coherent thought was lost, except the voice urging him to continue and never let go.

The teenager came to a halt, kicking the sand a little bit as if it would bring him answers to questions he couldn't begin properly form.

Why was he kicking himself in the head over this? It was just a 'practice' kiss so that Sora could go make out with Kairi without messing up too badly. Hmph, like he needed the practice anyway. From the sample Riku got, he was sure Sora would send up fireworks when he went to go kiss the stupid redhead.

Suddenly a wave of jealousy over took him, causing his eyes to narrow dangerously at nothing in particular. There was no way he was going to let Kairi corrupt Sora's happy-go-lucky mind with her hormonal advances. Certainly it was no problem when Sora kissed him, because he was his best friend and knew exactly how to handle the other. Kairi would probably pounce on him and sink her claws into the helpless sixteen-year-old, causing him to do things that he would—

Wait, what the fuck? He was acting like some stupid schoolgirl in love. Of course he loved Sora, loved him with all his heart. But he wasn't _in_ love with Sora … that would be kind of gay.

Conversely if Sora asked, he wouldn't mind initiating another kiss, since a kiss was just a kiss…well okay, a wonderfully-exotic-nerve-wrecking-mind-shaking-explosion sort of kiss. Now that he thought of it, the only reason he protested the kiss in the first place was out of Sora's protection. He didn't want the other to do something regretful. Nevertheless why didn't a protest of his own pop-up in their mini-wrestle? It was like, he didn't mind.

_SHIT_, he didn't mind.

Well okay, baby steps here…

_Awe fuck, I'm in love with my best friend._

* * *

Sora had ran and ran and ran, never stopping to catch his breath – not _even_ breathing until he was in the comfort of his bedroom, body draped across the bed.

No matter how fast he ran (which was pretty damn fast to make it across the entire island in less than ten minutes) his body could never catch up with the rhythm of his heart, which was _still_ hammering in his chest.

With the kiss, he _had_ expected something ranging anywhere from revolt to giddiness, but he had _not_ been expecting that.

"Guess you know your answer…" The boy murmured quietly to himself as he stared at the ceiling.

He had waited a whole year to do that, wondering if his mind was just playing tricks on him or that he just didn't understand the line between love and _in_ love. _Well, now I knew._ Yet, it wasn't _that_ surprising. It was like he had always been in love with Riku, but just didn't realize it until _that day._ The day where he touched Riku's hand… he had never felt such an onslaught of emotions (until the kiss), he even cried! Cried because he was so happy to be with him, cried because he thought he lost him forever; cried because he _loved_ him.

He never cried for Kairi. Yes, he was happy to see her, but in reality, he could have spent eternity in darkness with Riku without Kairi but he couldn't spend an eternity with Kairi without Riku. Hence why he had left Kairi the day the worlds started reforming.

That analysis was a beacon, a beacon that had been haunting him ever since he got back. At first he was overwhelmed that Kairi _actually_ liked him, over Riku no less. But after that discovery, whatever hole Kairi temporarily filled had emptied. His mind was confused, since logic told him he should be excited that his childhood crush liked him back, but his heart ached for something more…someone more.

Even if he knew he didn't love Kairi in _that_ way, it wasn't like he could just ditch her…again. When Kairi said that they would be together every day, the girl _meant_ it. When he woke up, she was already there with breakfast and before he went to bed she was there to give him a goodnight hug. At first he thought it was just a provisional stage, but months passed on and now a year. Instead of her backing away from his insistence to not 'date just yet', she was pushing forward, and now he was trapped.

When she had tried to kiss him earlier that day, he had sneezed in her face. The second time (that day) he heard his mother 'calling'. And finally, he just couldn't take it anymore and just ran when she attempted the third try.

That was when he ran (okay, dived…) into Riku. Boy did he miss his best friend… He knew sometimes people thought he was dense and overly naïve, which was mostly truthful, but he knew Riku was hiding something, something deep enough to distance their relationship. He wanted so many times to pry, get answers, but he didn't want to force Riku to trust him with whatever battle he was fighting. As for how he _felt_ about Riku made him tentative about approaching the older boy furthermore. The last thing he needed was to scare Riku away, since he wasn't even sure what he felt. Unlike most of the girls on the island, Sora didn't have his feelings for Riku because his great looks, body, voice… Okay so maybe all of that was a bonus; it didn't change the fact that he would go through hell and high waters just to be at Riku's side.

So how did you set the boundary of love and _love_? He had never been in love with someone before, so he wasn't quite sure if there was just levels of friendly love (since Kairi wasn't even on the same list as Riku) that was confusing him.

However, the kiss was a great idea. Greatest idea known to man to put it simply! He could test his feelings with Riku while being discreet about it.

The result?

Turns out he was head over heels in love with Riku…

Not that anything could happen from it since:

Riku is _not_ gay

He would only get a few minutes, if any, away from Kairi to even try and pursue something with Riku

They were best friends…

Oh and don't forget:

**Riku is** _not_ **gay.**

Well, at least he knew what his heart wanted.

_Riku … You don't know what you do to me._

He almost let out his feelings to the other after the kiss, but fortunately he had some control to at least _run_ from the situation.

With a sigh, Sora pulled his comforter over his head, wanting to drown under it.

With a groan, one thought repeated itself as slumber took him

_I'm in love with my best friend._

* * *

**Hey if you have time to read this, you have time to review! Ten reviews would be nice x)**

**Sekre**


End file.
